SOE (Sony) buys Matrix Online

[Schadenfroh]

Text

It did not take Hollywood long to figure out that it is difficult to make money in the video game business.

Three months after Warner Bros. Entertainment started Matrix Online, the studio's first internal foray into video games, the company said that the game would be acquired by a rival, Sony Online Entertainment.

The deal to sell the rights for an undisclosed amount was reached last week. In addition, Warner Bros. has signed a licensing agreement with Sony to develop an online game based on Warner Bros.' DC Comics characters, including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

For many in Hollywood, the Matrix deal is an indication of how tricky it is for a studio--even one with a hot property--to make money from an online game if it does not find a mainstream audience.
Multiplayer online games like Matrix Online or the popular EverQuest by Sony need to sign up hundreds of thousands of players to turn a profit.

With fewer than 50,000 subscribers enrolled to play Matrix Online, a far lower number than the studio projected, Warner Bros. executives said there was little economic incentive to keep the game.

"It's certainly disappointing that we are not the runaway hit like we would have hoped for," said Jason Hall, a senior vice president at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, who oversaw the game's development.

Hall said the game's content would still be overseen by Warner Bros. and, as part of the acquisition, about 20 to 30 employees who created the game are expected to join Sony.

Warner Bros. is one of the few Hollywood studios to aggressively court video game users by both working with partners (it created the video game for "Batman Begins " with Electronic Arts) and by developing video games.

Hall declined to say how much Warner Bros. paid to develop Matrix Online, but industry analysts suggested that the cost was about $20 million.

As part of the deal with Sony, Warner Bros. is expected to share in future profits of the game in an effort to recoup some investment.

The development of Matrix Online was a struggle from the start, with Warner Bros. twice delaying the game's debut. Hall said that the decision to sell the rights came on the heels of the company's decision to be a partner with Sony in an online game for its DC Comics characters.

Along with Matrix Online's development costs, Warner Bros. was paying for the infrastructure to maintain it, including customer service.

Now, Hall said, Warner Bros. "can spend more on content." In the end, having Sony manage the game will be better for the consumer, he said.

Entire contents, Copyright © 2005 The New York Times. All rights reserved.

 

[n7]

I kinda figured it was gonna die.

I really wish they woulda left it at the movies & quit milking it.

The movies > *, but when you try to milk a franchise, it almost never works...

 

[BlueWeasel]

Well, I don't think even Sony can mess this one up....MO was doomed from the start.

 

[gwarbot]

Everything sony touches was crap or turns to crap. Personal opinion stated

Copyright Gwarbot all rights reserved

how do I got the circle r thingy

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: n7
I kinda figured it was gonna die.

I really wish they woulda left it at the movies & quit milking it.

The movies > *, but when you try to milk a franchise, it almost never works...

Perhaps, but the Matrix would seem to be a good fit for such a game.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: n7
I kinda figured it was gonna die.

I really wish they woulda left it at the movies & quit milking it.

The movies > *, but when you try to milk a franchise, it almost never works...

the game was terrible...
I was on the beta team and I told all my gaming friends stay FAR FAR away from this one...

not to mention WoW is killing it...

 

[Gurck]

Haven't heard much about this title, but no matter how bad it is, if anyone could make a turd smell worse, it's Sony.

 

[Continuity27]

Not to go too far off topic, but can someone explain, in their opinion, why Matrix Online is a poor game? Just curious.

 

[CVSiN]

bad engine.. bad combat system... bad missions system bad bad bad everything... its just not fun...

 

[Continuity27]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
bad engine.. bad combat system... bad missions system bad bad bad everything... its just not fun...

Is it comparable to any other MMO you've played?

 

[HardcoreRobot]

im still waiting for this game to blow WoW out of the water, per the poster formally known as Malak's predictions. (hint, WoW has 2,000,000+ subscribers now)

sony will bury this one....

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
im still waiting for this game to blow WoW out of the water, per the poster formally known as Malak's predictions. (hint, WoW has 2,000,000+ subscribers now)

sony will bury this one....

He changed his sn to KruptosAngelos (sp?). I think what he meant was that it was a better game rather than that it would do better commercially... either way he's off base though...

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
im still waiting for this game to blow WoW out of the water, per the poster formally known as Malak's predictions. (hint, WoW has 2,000,000+ subscribers now)

sony will bury this one....

3.5 million now, thanks to china

 

[Schadenfroh]

Well, looks like the transaction has been complete:

http://thematrixonline.warnerbros.com/web/live/news_display.jsp?id=TransitionFAQ

Should have occured 8/15/05